“I wish we had a good day. It got better. But usually that first day in pads, guys are going crazy. We’ll look at the tape. I probably shouldn’t say it was bad without looking at the tape first. Sometimes you look at the tape and it’s clean. It just wasn’t as crisp as you’d like it to be. But it got crisper as we went, that’s for sure.”

On if he believes the defense is ahead of the offense at this point:

“You would think so. But, you never know. I was impressed today. I will go back and watch the tape. We had a couple thud periods and we had a couple live periods, but I was impressed with our offense, the way they ran the ball. They were just doing some different things. I think our offensive line played good. I thought the run game was probably pretty good. We’ve still got some things we need to clean up in the pass game, but I was impressed with how we ran the ball and what we did offensively, so that was really good to see. I would say the offense is ahead in the run, defense ahead in the pass.”

On the offensive line:

“I thought they did a nice job in the run game. I thought in the pass game, we still have some work to do. We did a two-minute at the end, and there was probably more pressure on the quarterback than you would want. You try not to put yourself in a two-minute situation. It’s hard to run the ball in that period. Like I said, I was impressed with the way we ran the ball and the run blocking. We seem to be moving a lot faster to where we are going.”

On if he feels he has depth in the offensive line position:

“I feel like we have some young guys, and we don’t have a lot of experience, we don’t have a lot of game reps, but we have some talent there. I really believe we have talent with [Carson] Van Lynn and Gabe Houy and Bryce Hargrove. There are a lot of guys who have opportunities to make plays.”

On the versatility of offensive lineman Alex Bookser:

“He’ll go wherever we want him to go. He can plug any hole. We try not to make him play everywhere, but we’ll figure it out.”

On how Dewayne Hendrix and James Folston Jr. have looked this spring:

“Dewayne [Hendrix] has had a great spring so far, three days, first one in pads. Both him and James Folston have. One thing I’ve noticed the past couple of days is just the get-off. [James Folston] used to be the slowest guy off the ball. We already know that he is fast, maybe one of the faster guys, but he can just get off the ball. His get-off is much better than it used to be, and Dewayne has been the same way. They both haven’t been a surprise, but I’ve been very pleased with what I have seen from them.”

On the importance of having fullback George Aston on the field:

“George [Aston] is the energy; he’s the energy bus. Besides being a good football player and those things and being tough, I think he brings people together, so having him in that huddle means there is a lot of things we can do offensively. He’s a difference-maker.”

On bringing in guest speaker Maurice Clarett:

“We have a thing called ‘Developing Pitt Men.’ It’s a series of bringing in different speakers each week to talk to [the team]. [Maurice Clarett] is a guy who has gone through some struggles. It’s part of life. One major thing that he talked about, which was something the kids took away, was trust the people around you. Back when he was in high school, and when he won a national championship, he didn’t embrace and trust the people trying to pull him in the right direction. So the biggest message we got from him was to trust the people around you. [The coaching staff] are here to help you.”

<p>Randy Bates coached linebackers for 12 years at Northwestern, and before that it was the defensive backs at Louisiana Tech.</p> <p>.</p> <p>As a first-timer running a defense at the Power Five level, one thing Bates won’t lack on Pat Narduzzi’s staff is energy and enthusiasm. Much is expected of Pitt on that side of the ball in 2018, given how much experience returns, and the cultivation commences now in spring camp.</p> <p>Bates cuts a similar profile to the man he replaces, Josh Conklin — not all that tall, on the thin side and usually sporting a forward-facing baseball cap — but he’s nearly 20 years older and perhaps a few octaves higher when he chimes in to the defense.</p>

Please tell me that the P-G isn’t in the market for a proofreader after all this time – that is what the article looks like on all my devices…

Bates takes over a defense that ranked 11th in the ACC in yards allowed — and 105th nationally in passing yards allowed. He’s working with a pair of new coaches in charge of Pitt defensive backs in secondary coach Archie Collins and safeties coach Cory Sanders.

Though Bates has been a linebackers coach for 24 of the 36 seasons he’s been in the business (his coaching career began as the offensive line coach at Muskingum in 1982), he also has five seasons in charge of the secondary on his résumé.

Bates’ only time spent as a coordinator was in 2005 at Louisiana Tech. “I will go over to the secondary and say hello. We have two new coaches there, so we are forming relationships at those positions with those coaches, and they are also with me,” Bates said. “So I am also helping there, and then I jump down with the D-line and really just come and yell at them for a couple seconds. They are doing great.

Here is what his Tech team did on defense in his lone season as a DC – pretty decent all around especially in the rushing defense category (see table below).

That Passing Yards Allowed scares me though – the same way our Passing Yards Allowed defense has scared me over the last three years. if we don’t fix that (105th nationally giving up 254.5 yards and 24 passing TDs on the year) we are in dire defensive straights yet again.

Here is an article published last week that was listed under the “Penn State” header in the P-G. The headline reads: Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi says Penn State doesn’t want to play. Well, they will if it’s a two for one deal home field and Pitt won’t accept that… although I don’t know why. Pitt Fans are clamoring for a harder OOC schedule and there it is – Penn State every year. I find it ironic that a team that just last season went for seven losses and was beaten by little sisters SYR and North Carolina (at home mind you) feels that we’d be at a distinct disadvantage if we travelled to Happy Valley to play ball games.

Is this an ego thing on Pitt’s part – not wanting to look desperate? Heather – give the Pitt fans what they want and that is to play PSU on a regular basis – the time for looking down Pitt’s football nose at anything passed by 30+ years ago.

The return of the 6-foot, 185-pound redshirt junior could bolster an unsettled position for Pitt, which lost wideouts Jester Weah and Quadree Henderson to the next level. Top receiving options back from last season are senior Rafael Araujo-Lopes (43 receptions), junior Maurice Ffrench (25), junior Aaron Mathews (16) and sophomore Ruben Flowers III (none).

In nine games in 2016, Tipton had 12 receptions for 142 yards and a touchdown and added 61 rushing yards on 11 carries.

We ain’t missing anything with the departure of Henderson from the receiving corps – from a returner standpoint yesy, but his work in the offense was rather minimal last season and can easily be picked up by others. Henderson had 17 catches for 186 yards (10.9 ypc) and no TDs last year – with a long of 74 yards. Takeaway that big play and his stat line reads 16 for 112 for only 7.0 ypc. As I said – minimal at best.

In that same article we read the same coachspeak from Narduzzi about the prospective talents of the OL that we read every spring…

NARDUZZI PRAISES OFFENSIVE LINE

Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi had mixed reactions to his team’s first practice in pads, but his praise for the offensive line’s effort was clear.

“I was impressed with our offense, the way they ran the ball,” he said. “ … We’ve still got some things we need to clean up in the pass game, but I was impressed with how we ran the ball and what we did offensively, so that was really good to see.”

The offensive line depth should help alleviate the roster departures, he said.

“We don’t have a lot of experience, we don’t have a lot of game reps, but we have some talent there,” Narduzzi said. “I really believe we have talent with (Carson) Van Lynn and Gabe Houy and Bryce Hargrove. There are a lot of guys who have opportunities to make plays.”

It is interesting to look back a full year and to see what the other staff coaches were saying about the team after the same point in the previous year’s Spring Drills. Here is a news release for after 2017’s Day 3 and some of Pat Narduzzi’s observations:

On his impressions of tight end Chris Clark:“Chris has been good. He’s got soft hands, but I’ll look at his run game. It’s easier to see him when he’s wide open. We’ve seen him run down the field, he’s got those soft hands, and he can run. He asked me the other day saying, `Coach, what did I look like today?’ I said `you have to get better at blocking.’ You have to watch the tape to see his blocking and if he did the right thing. Overall, I’ve seen a lot of good things out of Chris Clark.”

On the encouraging signs he’s seen out of the defense:“I’m really excited about the defensive front. I feel like we have some more depth up there than we’ve had in the past. We’re rotating Patrick Jones II in there. Deslin [Alexandre] is playing, and Kaezon Pugh has made some nice plays out there as well. Keyshon Camp has been playing really well. I feel like we’ve got some young guys in there, and we’ve got numbers to work with so we can stay healthy.”

My – how things change – except for Clark’s blocking, that wasn’t a strong point by any means last season.

Hey – like the picture up above of Pat Narduzzi wearing his “Victory Cape”?

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Michaelangelo Monteleone (aka MA, MM, Mike...)
Michaelangelo holds a degree in Travel Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. He was a former staff writer for InPittsburgh Newsweekly, and currently resides near Atlanta, Georgia. He has been a Pitt fan since 1997 after he witnessed Pitt upset then #22 Miami on Thursday night.

Pitt has a policy for the undergraduate players that would not allow them to transfer to any other ACC school or any school on the team’s schedule for next season.

Pitt is currently looking for a new head coach after parting ways with Kevin Stallings. The team met with former Indiana head coach Tom Crean, who has spent time as an ESPN analyst during the past season.

Stallings finished his two years at Pitt with a 24-41 record. He was 0–18 against ACC opponents this season.

There is a good read by Chris Peak at Pantherlair where he addresses the BB coaching search as well as the new FB coaches (especially Bates).

As for the BB transfers … he states that even if they are given a release, the players will be in school until the term ends in mid April. This provides sufficient time for them to get to know the new hire … provided the coach is hired in the next few weeks.

But here’s the thing: there’s no rush for Stewart or Marcus Carr or any other current player to make that formal at this point.

Pitt’s spring semester ends on April 28. No matter what happens, Stewart and the rest are in school until then. Even if Pitt granted a release today, nobody’s going anywhere until the end of April. They aren’t going to start classes or participate in workouts at a new school before then.

as usual, anything said or written about spring practice is to be taken with a grain of salt .. and especially the first 2 weeks of practice. I also wouldn’t put much stock in what La Tech did …. good or bad. This was prior to Bates joining NW where he coached under a well respected defensive HC for over a decade

Reed- just an excellent synopsis of the football team’s practice session. Permit me to do a 180 and return to basketball. For all POV-ites worrying about the future of Pitt basketball, let’s walk back in time to 44 years and 1 week ago from today …

I was a senior at Pitt, and in about 2 months I was to start a job as a $1,000 per month Mechanical Engineer. With friends, I traveled to the WVU Coliseum to see Pitt beat St. Joseph’s 54-42 in the First Round of the NCAA tournament. 5′-4″, Peabody grad Tiger Paul Auslander was going nuts. Buzz Ridl started 5 WPIAL players: Billy Knight, Mickey Martin, Kirk Bruce, Jim Bolla, and Tom Richards.

In a field of 25, Pitt would make it to the Elite 8, where we would lose to eventual national champion NC State and David Thompson.

Ridl came from tiny Westminster (New Wilmington PA) where he won a couple of NAIA national titles. The very first college BB game I ever went to was when I was about 10 and my dad took me to see Pitt at Westminster … yes AT Westminster. I can’t remember who won but I do remember that the Pitt warm-up jackets had the players’ names on the back, but Brian Generalovich’s simply said ‘General’

Some of these basketball guys are nuts for leaving PItt…at least you are getting a free ride if the new coach makes you ride the pine. I wouldn’t want Kene “foul machine” Chukwuka on my 30 and over rec league team. What other D1 school would want him after seeing film?

Parker Stewart and Carr have a great deal of potential and would most likely start again here next year…leaving makes no sense for them. They will have to go to another place, prove themselves, ect.

Ryan Luther leaving makes no sense because his profile will be way lower. At Pitt he is the local hero. Next year his face would be on the game day program and on billboards and instead…he will probably transfer to a non-Power 5 or be a reserve at a P-5 school.

“Pitt Fans are clamoring for a harder OOC schedule and there it is – Penn State every year. I find it ironic that a team that just last season went for seven losses and was beaten by little sisters SYR and North Carolina (at home mind you) feels that we’d be at a distinct disadvantage if we travelled to Happy Valley to play ball games.

Is this an ego thing on Pitt’s part – not wanting to look desperate? Heather – give the Pitt fans what they want and that is to play PSU on a regular basis – the time for looking down Pitt’s football nose at anything passed by 30+ years ago.”

Firstly, maybe SOME Pitt fans want a harder OOC schedule. I and many others would like to see it made a bit easier. Penn State certainly doesn’t stack their OOC schedule with competitive P5 teams, do they?

Secondly, we are MOST DEFINITELY at a disadvantage playing there. From an atmosphere standpoint, noise, etc. and definitely an officiating perspective, that place is a nightmare for visiting teams.

And finally from a fan’s personal viewpoint, a 2 for 1 means losing a home game from the schedule every year.. and I’ll never go back to a game at State College ever again.

Let them remain “Unrivaled” or “Immoral” or whatever they brand themselves. A 2 for 1 deal does nothing but strengthen their contention that Pitt is beneath them. There are more than 50 other OOC P5 schools that we can schedule, if necessary. But with teams like UCF, ND and others on the schedule, do we even need another P5 opponent?

I would love to see Pitt play both WVU and PSU on a regular basis …. one year WVU home and PSU away, and then the opposite the next year. Of course that’s not going to happen. But I would at least like to see one or the other every season.

When you are building a program, why would you want to schedule any difficult teams? Schedule 3 cupcakes until the things get on the right track. FPSU and FWVU. Bring on Coastal Carolina, Kent St, Savannah St etc…

Dear current Pitt players, when you lose 19 games in a row, your opinion doesn’t matter on the who, what, why, or how of the basketball program. Stallings may have been nice to you but as usual, nice guys finish last in the ACC.

The players leaving are simply exercising leverage, behind the scenes forcing Pitt to beg for Stallings back, no doubt for even a better contract than he originally got. It looks like we’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. I say we bite the bullet, be humble, and extend Stallings an offer and an apology.

On the football front, 2 key guys we’re getting back could really make a difference this year, Tipton and especially Aston. Aston is elite, I don’t care if he was 2 stars, he will make a big impact. Tipton in limited time proved he has really good hands, and I felt he was one of our best route runners at the WR position, behind only Lopes. I do wonder what kind of a job Sherman is doing though as the WR coach.

Should remind Pitt fans, asking for a release to transfer does not mean it’s a definite that the player is leaving. Told majority will wait to see who the appropriate hire will be before a final decision is ultimately made.

wbb – exactly. In this day of instant info. and social media, people tend to panic for no reason all too often. Personally, if I were the new coach, I’d like to keep a few of them, and if we hire a good one, they would be in a much better situation than they would’ve been under Stallings anyway. Everyone, including the players, just needs to relax and let things settle. They’ve all been through a enough already, and clearer heads will prevail.

Releasing the BB players is just routine, and will be seen as a good public relations move. This also gives the incoming coach maximum flexibility to look at tape and keep the players he wants to keep, if they will stay. Hopefully, an incoming coach will have a few recruits who want to play for him wherever he goes.

Players always say that stuff after a firing of their head coach. . Some of it is leverage and some of it is uncertainty of the next program and where they fit. Stallings failed on so many levels. so a team that is this poor has zero leverage and has zero demand form any top program. I think the next coach actually owes them that understanding. The Ralph Kiner explanation is still the best explanation.

Just call Pitt to renew my football tickets because the website kept throwing me out (hopefully from many using it). A wonderful young lady named Jordan helped me immensely and actually saved me some money. Pitt has discounted the amount you need to donate to keep your seats and parking places. (I didn’t even know they did that for parking). I almost gave more than I had to in order to keep my seats and parking. I did not see this on the website….perhaps I missed it. Also, she told me about “seats for service” where a donation of $10 per seat can provide service members and their families tickets to an upcoming game. I had no idea we were promoting that either. Even with my seats for service donation I saved $200 to put toward the Spring tailgate. haha.

Mark, the only portion that you stated there is that Luther could help wvu next year, while I respect your opinions, not wanting any of the current players is a thought I just can’t agree with. For a couple reasons.

PITT is trying to draw the interest of a viable coach and would have to tell him that he doesn’t have a returning player to speak of. You realize that this is highly unusual in real life?

… and of course, I do think the core group could thrive with other players of a higher caliber. ike

Ike – I have been through these changes before first hand. Right or wrong the new coach wants his own guys. I bet you when they committed the admin (Barnes) assured them Stallings had a few years 4+ to run this show and grow the team. Then Heather (New Admin) fires him so I bet they just don’t trust what Pitt says. I agree we are up against an 8 ball but the firing had to happen and a new hire has to take place ASAP and that coach needs a following quick.

The only three players that have any future promise are Stevenson, Stewart, and Carr. If I’m the new coach, I really make an effort to keep them and let them know they are part of the plan. I hate to say this but the rest of the roster at this point are just bodies that like UPitt said are not D1 material. I don’t follow recruiting but I saw on one site that a poster linked that several of these guys had zero stars. Is that a real thing in recruiting?

I for one no longer believe anything narduzzi says about a player till I see said player on the field. This coaching staff has made Hendrix out to be Reggie White for 4 yrs and he is a dud. I hope he shocks me and has a good year but I just do not forsee that.

Remember when he said “wait till you see what macvittie can do”. I am laughing as I’m typing this.

Leaving Brown? He’s probably the best bet to contribute later on in his career.

Mark. I hated the Stallings hire but felt he needed a chance. He got that chance and it was past time to move on. There are four or 5 players that help the transition into next year. Yes I know coaches want their own players so why don’t we let the next coach decide who he wants? ike

It is not hard to see this team needs some guys to step up big time. Hamlin needs to play like a 4 star. Ford needs to compliment a good player in Dane Jackson who I think will be even better this year, and Wrigins needs to play the best lb since Scott Mccillop for this team to improve on d. I for one am worried about this year a lot of questions for sure. On offense besides Pickett and Aston not one single other position save Bookster is manned by someone who i feel has shown star power potential.

If I had to estimate, I would say that the majority on here would like an easier out of conference football schedule. I would keep west of virginia off the schedule. Big mistake in my mind to let them into our market. Oh, i forgot. Pitt gets a lot of recruits from that state, not. All downside in my opinion.

3 easy victories and a 50/50 game ooc schedule is the way of ALL the big programs. Only Steve P, Barnes and Lyke think that the committee looks at strength of schedule. Although that may be true, you need to be in the top 4-7 in all of the ncaa to have that looked at. Note to AD – We are not being considered by the playoff committee, so stop scheduling us so hard that we will never be considered. Going 2-2 or 1-3 in the OOC, no matter how hard the teams you play, do not get you on espn….except for the other teams highlights! STUPID!

Basketball – There is no rush to hire a coach. What? Panic, No. Urgency, yes. As each coach gets hired by new programs, keep saying there is no rush. How many un-committed difference makers have yet to sign with their college for next year? Mostly scraps are left. We will have a roster like last years unless you go after a big time coach that players already committed too, and they will follow their leader. Absent that, Pitt 2018-19 will be like Pitt 2017-18.

Here is an article from SB Nation entitled “Pitt basketball, which doesn’t have a coach, might soon have almost no players” ..but then goes on to say it “made the absolutely correct decision to fire Kevin Stallings after two miserable seasons on the job, which ended in an almost-impossible-to-achieve 0-18 ACC record this year.”

And the hits just keep on coming Nationally. Forget about just local crap. This is another reason why you hire a coach a month ago. Where is the PItt Athletic Department Media folks? Stop this embarrassment, now. How much bad press do you want to keep getting? STUPID AD. Stand up.

These stories ARE on our new AD. Do something! Anything! Get us out of the national media as an embarrassment! This is your job. Do it! Just don’t give Fanta’s to the players to convince them to stay.

Bingo, +10. I am not searching for Pitt news. These stories are hitting one after the other on a day when college basketball is king over all other sports. We are a current laughingstock nationally.

This needs to change.

Also at Joe and NRS. There is no such thing as a completely clean coach in Top50 Hoops. There just isn’t. Some are fairly clean, but you won’t find spotless. If you find someone who is spotless, I will find you a program that looks like sandusky while at Dairy High. That means you cover up and you have a culture issue. Everyone cheats in top50. Everyone!

Then there’s the guy from Romania who had worked in Turkey for 19 years only to return home and find out that his wife had him declared legally dead. Then he went to court but he remains legally dead because ‘he filed too late’. “Case closed” said the judge in the present of the man in question.

Vukovcan continuing to grind his axe: “A source close to Golden (Dan Cage) tells Pittsburgh Sports Now that he was disappointed with the treatment of Stallings by the Pitt administration and only wanted to play for Stallings.”

Pitt is getting kicked in the teeth pub wise in our local rags and nationally. A good AD and PR department gets out in front of this stuff and minimizes the damage. Heather really losing what little confidence I had in her.

It might not be that bad if this is correct (and it probably is, as you just have to go into a sports bar or any bar or restaurant these days.

Stephen F. Austin coach Kyle Keller believes that some of his players had no idea whom they were facing in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Thursday because they — and other millennials — are spending too much time on their phones and are not watching basketball.

“[Millennials] don’t even watch college basketball,” Keller said after the Lumberjacks’ 70-60 loss to Texas Tech on Thursday night, according to USA Today Sports. “A lot of our guys didn’t even know who those cats were [on Texas Tech’s roster] because they don’t watch the game. They’re on their phone and doing that kind of stuff.”

The last thing we need right now is to rush into a bad hire just because we’re afraid of the media.

Vukovcan has really put out some trash, I think he means well based on his history, but he is completely discrediting himself with all this garbage, and it’s more than just one or two articles. Really getting embarrassing.

NRS – I wouldn’t care if Arizona does fire Miller and hire Hurley unless I was desperately sold on Hurley, which I’m not, though I would certainly like him as a top option, just not the only one by a long shot. However, if Arizona fires Miller and hires Hurley, and we in turn hire Miller, then I’d be disappointed. Why? Because he’s a younger version of Stallings as a coach, he’s just not very good, so if he loses his assistants to jail, what would we be left with? A bad coach. I don’t get the infatuation with Miller on here. Also, I doubt Crean and Matta are out of our price range, more like both would have been less than desirable hires for obvious reasons.

Miller lost a first round game with 4 players considered NBA capable. NO thanks. Plus his dad was a di** in regards to Pitt anyway. No one really cares in the national media about Stallings and Pitt. Locals think firing him was a no brainer. Pitt under Vicky will make a good hire. Don’t understand the angst here. Stallings was fired which was a positive and more importantly play hardball with him as they should. He was a rip off to the N’th degree. Pulled a lot of crap while here.

You know, here is some advice for AD Lyke ( since she follows POV).
1) Take your time and hire the very best person you can. Do not feel pressured. If you are talented you’ll know how to keep ?Gallagher and the boosters at arms length while you alone decide.
2) Realize no matter who you choose you’ll take heat. Be comfortable in your decision.
3) Give the new guy all the resources he needs.
4) Expect more out of him. You should expect excellence.
5) Now, AFTER the hire, carefully and surely go after the weasels controlling the local media, Mike Corleone style(no, not physically wacking them), but taking them out, each and every one who tried to bring down Pitt. This has been long overdue. In no other college market would the constant negative smear job be tolerated. They all think they are so smug and smart. Pitt does enough to get criticized legitimately, we don’t need the constant piling on. Use whatever means you have. People may actually applaud.

@Joe – #1 – flawed – She alone will not decide. Pitt will say she decided. #2, ok. #3 Flawed – Resources are a problem. She doesn’t argue well for resources. Not her speicailty. #4 Flawed – Excellence? – you get what you pay for. Pay for a “C” program, get a “C” result. 5. Absolutely agree. Take away the free meals to start. Invite and open your arms to the ProPitt media outlets, like Reed for instance and Chas…and Upitt.

Not being harsh Joe, but when you take your time as you suggest, the best candidates may have already been presented and signed elsewhere. In a results business, taking your time can be fatal to your own longevity.

I can count on my left hand how many negative articles Dairy College had about their basketball program over the last 30 years and Pitt articles beat them in the last 30 months. This is why I don’t subscribe, or click on one of their stories. If you all stop clicking on every Gorman and Cook and Skeezik story, readership will decline and they will be writing about the home and garden show at monroeville mall for a living.

Hurley won’t even consider the Pitt job. It doesn’t pay enough for the work that has to be done. Also didn’t he say something about going to a place where he can compete right away? Going into the ACC with any Pitt squad over the next couple of years is not my idea of a scenario for being able to compete right away.

Huff, it really is a buyers market. There are more good coaches out there than good jobs. This is her first big time hire. Decision maker or not, she will own it, so it will effect her future. You should expect excellence. There are a lot of guys doing well who are paid a hell of a lot less than we pay. Throwing money around is no guarantee either. I’m certainly not a Heather supporter, as anyone on here should know, but at this point she’s all we got. She can’t do worse than Barnes did( or I’m doing with my pools), but she can miss out on the guy we need, and that is what worries me. Those items I listed are what we should expect from an AD, not necessarily what we will get.

My mistake as I now believe it was Crean that said he wanted to go somewhere with the opportunity to compete right away. With that in mind Pitt was just wasting their time if they were talking to him earlier this week.

It’s not even close to the AD picking out the best person for the PITT head coaching job. It’s about the AD finding and signing the best person who’s willing to become PITT’s next head BB coach considering a whole bunch of negative factors. Including money and a program that is in shambles. If it wasn’t for The Pete, I’m not sure the BOT wouldn’t throw their hands up in the air and surrender the entire basketball program.

If you make a hire you should expect excellence, or why hire in the first place. We all expect this from our hires. I know it’s been so long since we’ve had a great hire we expect crap, which is what we got last time. This time there are really a bunch of really good hires out there. You would think just by the law of averages we’d get one right?

Ike, I think I said in a past post that we have to sell the job now, and that takes talent, but that there are enough positives to do it. It’s not” just offer” as one old coach said. You need to sell it. Much harder. But there are lots of jobs out there which have a lot less to sell that seem to be doing quite nicely. It’s hard, hard work. As I said from the start, it’s not should we, but could we.

Such negativity! The new coach will keep at least 5-6 players from this current team, including the St. Johns transfer and Luther. Golden will come when he eventually learns that Stallings is retiring. The new coach will bring 2-3 recruits from his current gig, and then he will pick up several Sr. transfers. They will win 4-5 ACC games next year. The AZ job isn’t even open yet, and Hurley is going there? Even with the NCAA sanctions hanging over them? Come on, guys. The situation is bleak but not that desperate. Remember that just canning Stallings is a positive over this year, and the Freshmen have gained a year of significant experience. And who said recently that in basketball 2 good players can turn things around?

Watch Hurley and oats. I bet both win and Pitt has to wait another week. But a young coach is probably a good thing. He can always get some older guys as assistants. It will all be over soon. Hopefully before the spring football game. Because we are a football school despite what nerd ball and corn hole believed. Just worried that our physics bureaucrat knows little about sports and more about measuring atoms. And our AD might not be up to the task. But we shall see.

Now that sounds a little better! 🙂 Think of this as an opportunity to begin a new dynasty with a good young coach who can coach as well as recruit. That coach from Buffalo is really impressive. Did you hear his confidence at halftime? No fear whatsoever! There are 3-4 good young coaches out there who would turn this thing around if given the chance and a reasonable budget to work with. I just don’t think that with all the bad publicity and subject of ridicule that Pitt is going to try to fix this on the cheap.

Have faith in pitt. A broken clock is right twice in the day. Pitt might be broken as well but with change there is opportunity and Pitt just needs to be right once. Confucius said that. Wise mother f’er.

Erie, if history is judge, you are right. But as ike mentioned, the Dixon and Narduzzi hires came out okay. I’m banking on the fact the Pitt does not like being a laughingstock in the sports world, and will fix this thing by opening up the wallet. Matta would be a costly, but quick fix if they want to return to respectability quickly.

Agreed – Matta brings cred. Even though many on this site don’t Lyke him as the choice.

Health is important and Pitt can offer great resources for that. Just ask Conner, but don’t ask UPitt.

By the way UPitt, when I was at Pitt in the early 80’s I got injured at the Penn Relays during my Freshman year. The team doctors and coach were pushing surgery. I thought better of it (actually thought “butcher”) and opted to rehab my own way. Joined a fraternity and made all-conference my Senior year.

I have to agree with EE, VOR, too much money spent to fix the hole in this BB mess to throw good money down the drain.

Yes Upitt, I’m more than satisfied with Narduzzi, I didn’t think I had to say that. You find the negative and I find the obvious. 2 eight win regular seasons is a good start despite the 5 win season last year. 21 regular season wins in 3 years considering the instability PITT has gone through is ok by me.

Matta told Georgia he doesn’t have the effort to give to the role. But somehow his health is going to be 150% a ok to do a complete rebuild? Heather – Give Oats 2M today and be done with it for God’s sake.

ToMatta is the quick fix. Think Pitt got desperate and offered a ton of money for recruiters to do everything he can’t. The guy does look 70, but to give devil his due, he can coach. I still want Grant. Hope he loses today so they can interview, but I don’t think so.

We can buy a Saban luxury van with a designated driver to travel the Philly, NY, NJ, MD, DC and VA route for recruiting. Bring back Jent to cover Ohio and other regions. Bring back Chris Jones from KS’s staff and see if Milligan wants a grad assistance job to connect the current players Matta wants to retain, Lyke Luther, Carr, Stewart, Brown, Stephenson and the St. John’s transfer. Matta would probably convince Golden to stay committed and bring in some strong grad transfers.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m glad we interviewed Matta, and I don’t want him. The only way would be if his health has REBOUNDED, or he could offer some reasonable response to support handling the job based on assistants, etc., but I don’t like the sound of it. I’d rather Hurley or a Grantish type of coach. Sorry to sound like a broken record, but I had thought this ship had sailed. If this eventually becomes the hire, I sure hope they do some serious explaining….

Grant is coaching this game the exact way he has to to win. If you follow college ball at all you’d know Auburn wants to get into a track meet. This is exactly the way to play them. And talk about the calls, wow!

What school is going to waste a scholarship on Luther, a kid who hasn’t played in two years due to a non-healing stress fracture?

Am I wrong, but Pitt is a world-class university, where scholarship athletes receive free everything, plus tutors, training table food, medical care and the ability to lose games in front of a national audience.

Go ahead and transfer to Georgia State and places unknown if you are angry life at Pitt didn’t go your way. But despite what our child-worshipping society has led you to believe, there is a big, bad world out there, filled with disappointments, where people don’t always get their way or a lollipop.

Gorman did a very good job when he was the Trib’s beat writer for Pitt FB along with jerry DiPaola… since then he’s just had a small bit or two on Pitt every once in a while. DiPaoloa is the only mainstream media writer who will write anything even the slightest bit controversial about Pitt FB and Narduzzi – he’s not afraid as so many of the others are. they get in bed with Pitt and are literally to close to the subjects to have true criticism in their writing.

Zeise easily could have kept the Pitt beat even with his kid on the team.I thought it was weird that the paper didn’t feel he could be professional enough to separate the two things – I believe he could have and kept his good FB coverage going.

When you have sites like PSN that take not just advertisements but are partially funded by ‘sponsorships’ from entities that are heavily positive toward Pitt what you’ll get is what we have been seeing from Vukovcan.

It is interesting and I think pretty amazing that The Pitt Blather and now The Pitt POV gets the amount of access we have had over the years. I am by far the most critical of anyone covering Pitt football yet I know EJ really appreciates the POV. Not because of the written articles’ content so much (he reads them all) but because it is the one site where there is a true reflection of what is happening with Pitt FB (and BB) and where the readers and comments don’t just put up soundbites but well thought out discussions about the pluses and minuses of Pitt sports.

That is very rare and there isn’t another Pitt site that does this in so much detail.

I think Cardiac Hill does a good job. It is part of SBNation and has no local sponsors. Of course it doesn’t have the interaction like PittPOV, Blather and PantherLair forum but I often likes its perspective

Heather I believe was at OSU with Matta/ I am sure she knows his strengths and weaknesses. Matta really let the program go south and that is a major concern with me. It may have been a real interview so who knows. But his health issues, the way he let the program basically collapse is jut my cup of tea here. .

PSN is virtually unreadable. They have really gone downhill. Beat writers are one thing, columnists are another. They get paid for opinions. It is the constant negativity from these guys that ?I object to. Just be fair. Lord knows we deserve a lot of stuff, but piling on, not so much.

if pitt gets Matta, they go to a final 4 in 3 years
again, i’ll bend over so he can rest his gimpy foot on my back at courtside
I’ll personally climb atop the Cathedral and make some meatballs and create white smoke prior to the announcement
i’ll become a matta meatball maniac

if hurley, then I’m fine too. Guinness beer and fries.
Pitt will get one of the two
there are boosters involved
Gallagher is locked in the Cathedral basement playing with his physics set until the announcement
There is a Pitt of Misery down there in the depths

Pitt should forget about WV and PS on foot ball schedule. One and two is an insult and like tying one hand behind your back to go to SC 2 yrs in a row.WV needs the Pittsburgh western Pa. media market and playing exposure.They would love 2 games at Pitt for one in Morgantown (I spent a week in that town one night). As another writer said ” how many football players come out of WV”? They die without Pa. Players. I remember Wanny said he missed the NFL pre season when he came back to Pitt. We now play 12 games. Its a grind. we need at least two or three letup games.I also remember several top D1 coaches espousing that it is hard to have a team really up for two tough games in a row. W ere still building. Heard Holgy on weekly football show talk about renewing Pitt. He was literally salivating at the idea of going to Hienz Field again. Why must we always play into their hands.——Pitt ADM. sees $$$$$$$$ and gets weak in the Knees. Their are others Maryland Temple Rutgers. They bring good gates to Pitt. In about 5 yrs. ,maybe!

Well, that was not Earls finest hour. Question why he got away from going inside before they doubled, then when they did why not go inside out and reverse the ball? Chealey being hurt killed them. Point guard and everything runs thru him, plus he’s their best defender. Oh well!

Yeah Joe, losing a hobbled point guard who was not only the leader of the team but I’m guessing a fifth year senior. Nothing like experience huh? C of C looked like they belonged to me. I would still like PITT to grab Grant up. I still hear he’s on the docket.

May I vote. As a Pitt fan there is no way I would play a 2-1 with anyone. Truely, if you know Pitt fans who want to do that I would like to meet them as I have never met any who thought that’s a good idea. If you want to play them and they won’t you have a better chance having the legislature mandate it, in other words it will never,ever happen. Of course you want to play, but the only way is to beat them the next two. Then talk sh*$ and walk, cause they will never admit we are close to their equal. Their attitude and smugness are indeed unrivaled.

Ike, yes, losing the guy on the cusp of an NCAA game with no time to adjust, in addition he was the best player in the conference, not some smuck who was the best player on the worst team in school history. Those two situations are absolutely the same, right?

I really did like Dixon at Pitt but he should forfeit tournament games or let an assistant coach run the show. His teams are AWFUL in the tournament. Higher seeded. Lower seeded. Close to home. Far from home. Young team. Veteran team. Doesn’t matter. He always loses. It has to be him.

I mean how anyone can maintain a shred of optimism with a basketball team which does not exist, a bb coach situation where we are hopefully about to go from pathetic to middling at best with the budget and support the Lyke’s of…..well, Heather the Presenter and company. I mean if the basketball guru Barnes couldn’t do better than KS, what can we expect? What kind of list did Heather compile when she knew KS was gone 3 months ago. And then does she already have that list of “C” grade Power 5 wannabes vetted and willing to bust their ass to resurrect the once vaunted Pitt program but now has us all anxiously speculating about who we get to cheer on just to build the excitement. Of course she does…..not.

So, now that we understand basketball reality, we are left to hope for a nice surprise from Narduzzi….well that is until KP goes down, victim of the disaster about to unfold with an o-line not gifted from Chryst.

See Ike, no need to read between the lines there. He actually hits the nail right on the head.

It is possible to be optimistic without turning your back on the facts also though. There is no need to denigrate Paul Chryst just because your coach these days isn’t doing so well with what he’s hired and recruited.

You can correct me if this 2018 season is a winning one but all I see when I look at the last three years is that the more Narduzzi recruits play the worse we have done. We’ll see about this year but I’m not holding my breath we get back to an 8 win season anytime soon.

I would rather be 0-18 Pitt and have fired an utterly contemptible incompetent coach than UVA winning the ACC and making basketball history by being the first 1 seed to lose (get blown out by 20) to a 16 seed!

So let’s be clear. Matta’s been unemployed for nearly a year. We have had months to interview him if we believe the decision to terminate Stallings back in January are true. If your focus was Matta, the interview and job offer should have happened the day Stallings got removed. If he is your guy, why did we wait in order to possibly lose him to Georgia? He would also try to salvage recruits or actually get a few new ones.

Lyke knows diddly squat about Matt’s as a coach. Matta was head coach whe she was a compliance person. Crean and Matta for interview practice or to get two denials in the national media.

I liked Odom from tonight’s game. Classy in victory. Kids loved him and they played hard and as a team.

Any of you Chryst fans want to give credit for recruiting Peterman and Pickett also? Christ could put you to sleep just looking at him on the sidelines. I’m with Ike and others saying that Narduzzi going forward gives me some hope. That’s even after agreeing with the C grade Narduzzi gave himself for his 3 year coaching performance at Pitt.

CoC lost by 4 to Auburn yesterday. Time for Lyke to get on the phone and call Grant for that interview.—Reed: How about conducting a Pov Poll on our choice of either Chryst or Narduzzi for the Pitt head coaching job. I’d be surprised if you got 10 votes for Chryst over Narduzzi from all the POV posters and readers.

Especially in sports. There are shades of gray all over the place and that’s the case with Paul Chryst and Pat Narduzzi also. Both have done good things; both have done things that aren’t so good and both of those had successes and failures.

But I will say that Pat Narduzzi didn’t have anything at all to deal with like PC did when he got the job after the 2011 season. That’s one thing that Narduzzi has not had to deal with… all those institutional problems that we had then.

Pat narduzzi won 8 games two years in a row – can’t take that away from him but he did on the back of other people’s players mostly. As I said let’s wait and see what happens this year but there’s no need to run down Paul Chris just to build up.PN.

I don’t remember Chryst being run down except for the Matt House hire. Yes, after any close loss, the HC will be criticized for a game decision … that’s part of being HC. And then losing to Akron at home warranted criticism. And lastly … references like Potato Paulie is a staple to Blather and POV.

But I really don’t recall a constant beat down like what I saw this past season … not even close.

Narduzzi also got rid of an alarming number of Chryst’s players because they just weren’t D-I caliber. Chryst did the same with a lot of Graham’s kids, but those kids did not fit the Wisconsin system.

Your institutional issues reasoning doesn’t hold a ton weight because there just wasn’t as many issues as perceived. Pitt fans perceive them in a stronger light because the fanbase has been brainwashed by the administration for over 30 years of trying to be squeaky clean.

That same administration people that many alums genuflect to have been a laughingstock for a long time and right now taking lots of heat with TCU in the NCAAs.

I really like Bennett but his team never seemed ready or quite able to respond. UMBC slow-playing the inbounds on every made shot was wasting seconds on every possession and UVA down well over double digits only pressed to stop that with about 6 to 7 minutes remaining. They looked like big lumbering giants and although they lost their freshman 6th man, appeared to have lost way more than that.

With TCU only scoring 52 points last nite (30 below their season avg), one has to think, that their scoring during the regular season was more a product of the defense-less type of bball that is played in the Big 12.

Does 3 of 17 from 3 (17%) sound familiar ? And 39% fg. And Syracuse was the last team to get a bid
and one of the few teams that Pitt held their own with.

I do like Pitt getting an up and comer better than Crean or Matta. Our track record with retreads, Stallings and Majors has not been good. But no matter what, we also need high quality assistants who can recruit, and will go on to be head guys someday.

I’d rather get a young guy like Drew, who we should have hired before. Of the old guys I’d take Matta only. Zeise was on the nightly sport call and said his #1 is Miller. Does he know something we don’t?

I think the longer it takes for Pitt to hire head coach the more we’ll see somebody that’s under the radar as opposed to somebody that’s a bigger name that’s already out there and that might not be a bad thing. Especially basketball where a HC doesn’t have 8105 players to deal with that you can be closely aligned with each player and have them grow up with you through the first couple years of your tenure.

I think well see a younger coach who was successful at a lower level of play..

I’m telling you that as long as the candidates are still in the tourney, nothing will happen. The Matta interview was symbiotic …. a smokescreen for Heather and part of the scorecard for Matta. They know each other, if it was going to happen, it would have by now.

I said it before, but I think the coaching situation will be wrapped up by Wednesday. Again, if what Reed has always said about Pitt is true Miller should have no chance at all, nor should he.
Best thing that happened is UVA losing. Narrative goes away from our mess. There really are a lot of good coaches out there, it’s just which one best fits our needs.
Just my 2 cents but: Matta will make all the talking heads and National guys happy,BUT, I really question if he can recruit here. At OSU he could easily get the best kids in Ohio and live off that. Doubt if that would happen here. Then you are left with a physical wreck, who may just be past his expiration date. Just a thought to throw out.

Yea but Joe….a HC at a Major basketball program is like a 4 star General (Lt. General) in the Army. They are NOT on the front lines. They are at the HQ and have their subordinates out in the field, following thru on their orders.

Do you actually think John Wooden or Huckleberry Hound (Roy Williams) or…… are out their in the field.

I would take Matta in a heartbeat. He was very successful at Xavier where Sean Miller was under him.
And he was extremely successful at Ohio State. Knows how to recruit Ohio obviously. Indiana, Michigan and Pennsylvania. He can hire a couple assts. for the South.

Plus his brother is in Georgia. As long as Pitt has some ‘out’ regarding his health or some stipulations on him bringing in some A-1 asst’s to take over the reigns should they need to, this would be a killer hire.

No thanks. If they look over 80 they coaching is past them. Get a young guy that did it elsewhere with crap budget and is winning. They obviously can recruit and have energy that needs to excited a fan base that quit caring when called noise.

So you think we’re going to fill The Pete with hiring a mid-major coach. I don’t think so. Just because they won in the MAC or the whatever……doesn’t mean crap in the ACC. Who in the ACC went mid-major to get a coach…..other than Boston College.

You love Buzz Williams…the guy is 46 years old. Did VT hire a mid major……No.

Emel, I think we’d all be happy with a HEALTHY Matta, but I don’t believe that is realistic. This is why I’ve always preferred Reed or Anon’s scenario above to play out. And agree with GC above. I hope they are right.

If Hurley becomes available after today and there isn’t a hire within the week, then I would start to put my head down and expect a surprise (disappointing) hire. Not saying that coach won’t work out but the expectations are sky high right now considering who’s available. Still think it’s Hurley or Grant.

Maybe they could bring back Wooden from the dead. Straw man argument Emel, they aren’t going to get Williams or Coach K. Even Matta or Crean would only do so much for attendance. Fans won’t fill the Pete until they see a winning program again.

Personally, I don’t think Hurley is interested in coming our way. Don’t see Musselman being a fit with our Admin. Don’t see it being Matta.

It wouldn’t surprise me if its a name that is not even being mentioned, such as a guy who would be willing to work below market value. This is the interest of our Admin/BOT. This hire is a big one, and its a major rebuild……they cannot F this up again.

Dixon knew he couldn’t win in the ACC and he couldn’t recruit anyone in the top 150 here, nor did he even try. He style of play is not suitable in the ACC and he couldn’t get top players from NY anymore. He’s no different at TCU either where he’s 0-3 in March this year. He got stale and fan support was getting stale too.

This would be a moot point if Pitt didn’t hire that rat Barnes and if they had some vision and hired Bryce Drew or some other good young coach instead of KS.

Since I know that you also have something against DIxon, I’ve reposted.

Well Dixon has a 4-star 2016 PG (Fisher) sitting on the bench recovering from knee surgery. He has a 4-star SG from 2017 red shirting. He has a 4-star 2018 PG coming in. He’s got 4 and 5 star bigs coming in too.

He just put TCU in the tournament for the first time in 20 years. They lost a tournament game as a 6 seed to an 11 seed. In this tournament two 13 seeds beat 4 seeds and a 16 seed just trounced a 1 seed.

I think TCU won more conference games in 2016-2017 than TCU had in all seasons combined prior to Dixon’s arrival.

Try to be objective and not draw long term conclusions in year 2. There is undoubtedly significant improvement happening in Fort Worth.

Pitt IS a big time job in hoops. College hoops is filled with a handful of “blue bloods” (to use an annoying cliche), and after that comes teams like Pitt, that’s the reality. Heck, UConn was nothing without Calhoon, and their whole reputation is built on one guy, and that’s a fact, that’s all it takes in hoops, is the right coach.
However, Pitt would require a coach that WANTS to compete against Duke, NC, etc. and be up for a rebuild, not someone looking for a softer situation. We have a few posters that like to always downplay Pitt’s situation, the woe-is-us crowd; quit having such loser expectations and sentiments ladies.

Frankmd, sure would love a guy like Oats. Maybe we should root for Buffalo to lose…

Upitt, there have been a lot of big time programs who have made terrible hires, just not to the epic proportions that we did,lol. Even Bama football got it wrong a few times. Correct problem with right hire and it all goes away. Screw the pooch again and we become UMBC, oh wait……..

Watching that CUSE TCU game, it is pretty clear that Dixon will not be a huge success at TCU unless he recruits better than he did at Pitt. We will see how he does with his own recruits. Dixon could not recruit the top level guards needed to be successful in the tournament, and I don’t think that will change at TCU. I still find his court side demeanor annoying.

Well Dixon has a 4-star 2016 PG (Fisher) sitting on the bench recovering from knee surgery. He has a 4-star SG from 2017 red shirting. He has a 4-star 2018 PG coming in. He’s got 4 and 5 star bigs coming in too.

He just put TCU in the tournament for the first time in 20 years. They lost a tournament game as a 6 seed to an 11 seed. In this tournament two 13 seeds beat 4 seeds and a 16 seed just trounced a 1 seed.

I think TCU won more conference games in 2016-2017 than TCU had in all seasons combined prior to Dixon’s arrival.

Try to be objective and not draw long term conclusions in year 2. There is undoubtedly significant improvement happening in Fort Worth.

It all goes back to Pitt not really placing a high value on athletics. It has been the history of the University for ever. Football has been the only sport that mattered and even then support has strengthened and waned repeatedly. Same with basketball, even more so, we have no history of greatness like with football. A couple of Knights a Hennon, a Smith. Sorry, we are far from a big time program or job.

Football has a legacy of the greats of the game, both players and coaches. Our highest profile guy in basketball is Dick Groat.

Pitt needs a Johnny Majors hire in BB. Make no pretense here. Get some money and friends of the program to step it up. What top recruits mom needs a job and a home. What top recruits dad needs a new tractor. .That is the reality here. Time to grasp that you have to have some sleaze to win. Dixon slog ball and the same wtf from the TCU troups will be the hallmark of Dixon. Soft schedule, go over 500 in conference and get beat in the NCAA tournament is what captain micro does best. . Great guy but like Wanny and QB’s it is the pg stupid.

My point earlier was that if Lyke wanted Matta or Crean, she could have executed that a month ago or three weeks ago. Why interview Matta now? Being cute doesn’t play well.

I was really impressed with Odom’s interview last night. His squad beat Virginia pretty handily. Virginia was without the best 6th man in the land for the first time all year and that shouldn’t be lost in the excitement of the victory. Odom’s squad may never shoot that well again, but they did for one night, last night.

That said, maybe we end up with Grant, Odom, Oates, Hurley, etc. Has our AD got her list of coaches ranked? What are the differences between candidates? Is she waiting on her number 1 whilst her numbat 2, 3, and 4 get swallowed up by our competition. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Pitt can rebound with One solid recruiting class. The longer Lyke waits, the harder it gets and we will be in a spot where we get zero big time talent for 2-3 years. Tough to get out of the hole, except by bringing in a stud recruiter. Pick a winner, but pick it quickly. Clock is ticking.

No name equals no results. I want to be wrong so bad.

Is anyone shocked that no college has interviewed Kevin Stallings yet? He had to say he is retired so that he can max out his payout, but more importantly, he needed to retire to cover for the fact that no AD is stupid enough to hire him, except ours.

that’s all well and good from Pitt’s perspective … but what if Crean or Matta wanted to see what else is available .. like Georgia. Remember Georgia (1) offered offered over $3M, (2) has a better recruiting area, (3) has much less of a rebuild than Pitt, and (4) less pressure because the FB is the MAJOR focus there.

Upitt is hitting on a good point. It doesn’t appear that Pitt has come to grips with what it takes to compete in the ACC in all sports. This is a good league for most sports, and there is a reason the schools get such good payouts from FB and BB, but this amount cannot carry all of the sports by itself. I’m not sure that Heather is the one to increase the school’s sports profiles and sports budgets to compete in all sports. I hope I’m wrong.

We aren’t playing small catholic schools anymore. Facilities matter. Paying top dollar for recruiting matters. Having a recruiting budget that allows you to pluck a player from Texas or cali or Italy matters. Knowing how to cheat matters.

VOR, I agree with Upitt. The only exceptions I can think apart from the 2 big sports is the women’s volleyball coach, and recent great hire of a men’s soccer coach (Barnes’ credit). Then again, we’re new at this, so it may be a work in process…

EJ, if you are reading this, don’t even think about playing the Nitters 2 for 1. Bad idea that makes Pitt look like it is going begging for respect from Pedo. 1618mt, those were good hires you mentioned, but if they don’t get the budget they need then it will make no difference. No coach can overcome a lack of facilities, recruiting budget and commitment by the AD for very long.

Nobody but the insiders really know what happened with Dixon. But when the joined the ACC, they should have given him everything he needed to compete. Money for great assistants and recruiting new areas. That is what programs that want to win do. Instead it looks like they gave him the bum’s rush and used a carpetbagger to do it. Little thought and effort went into their next hire.

The pedos can die. Pitt doesn’t need them. And as we old timers die, so do the memories. Those Nitters think of us as little brother. Just like Texas with the aggies. The aggies said screw you and left. Pitt needs to schedule the hoopies. They hate pitt and city slickers. Pitt is also part of Appalachia. Creepy valley is more tied to central pa and philly. Although I do hate philly. But in laws side from west virginny. All with ties to Pittsburgh. So the hoopies are our second cousin twice removed through incest.

It makes too much sense for the legislature to mandate all three teams play each other. Since PA Tax payers support all three schools and kids from all over the state go to all three, it would generate interest in PA football. It would also provide a windfall for Philly and Pittsburgh businesses and government, generating substantial dollars every other year for each city. It also helps raise the profile for all three especially the city schools in the state. It is a no brainer.

I don’t think my wife’s side of family practiced incest. I sure to god hope not. They did have a dog and they called him the N word…black and white photos with the name. But this was the 50’s and West Virginia. People are different today down there….right?

Can we cut the “sky is falling” attitude and let Heather do her job. Constantly saying how horrible things will end at Pitt solves nothing. I want Heather and Pitt to interview and hire on the QT. Anyone will be better than Stallings. I like Matta. He’s been there done that.

VOR – My goodness, of course, no way we’d be 2-1 w/ Penn St., 1-1 or nothing. We are their ONLY true rival whether they want to admit it or not, if they don’t want to play us, fine, we should move on. In fact, we’ve gotta be one of the only schools in the country (????) with 2 true rivals. I wouldn’t play the inbreds even 1-1, let them wither in no-man’s land.

Upitt, I’m conflicted between coaching and recruiting, both are so key in bb, not sure what the balance should be. I still feel Jamie Dixon is an excellent coach, but his time had come here due to recruiting, yet look at Sean Miller, recruited lights out but couldn’t win anyway near the level of players he got (bought). I think as we look to our next coach, we must be weighing this balance….

Hurley and his team looking brutal today. Not only Narduzzi but wonder what the director of nursing thinks of Hurley? I see others thinking Hurley is a home run hire. Don’t get me wrong he could work out if he’s interested but he’s not a lock. He will be going from the small time to swimming around with the big fish.

Hurley is a reminder that it is a big step up from these mid-major programs to the top conferences. I will always prefer someone who has actually done it before at the top level. Pitt needs someone who can turn a program around quickly. I think both Mussleman and Matta could do it. They know how to bring quality assistants with them, and will make sure that Pitt provides the budget to do it.

Just our freshmen ‘might’ be able to walk on at Gannon. Kentucky’s frosh are every bit 4 and 5 star recruits. Many are one and done. Buffalo doing everything to stay in the game but the difference in athletes is night and day.

I’m a TCU alum and was pulling for the Frogs last night. Loved the matchup against a mediocre Syracuse squad. However, when is Dixon going to realize that scoring 45-55 points won’t win in the tournament? TCU was missing a key piece at the guard position, but those same slogball tendencies appeared again. Maniacally micromanaging possessions in the 2nd half. What guards want to play in that system?

TCU was #24 in the country in points per game this season. #23 in 3P percentage. #9 in FG percentage. #14 if offensive efficiency. #2 in assists. Their problems were on defense. I think Dixon may have changed. You can ignore it if you want.

TCU looked lost against the zone. The announcers repeatedly talked about it. TCU shot poorly from the field, the arc and the line They were beaten on the offensive glass. They turned the ball over 13 times to Cuse 7. That’s why they lost. It wasn’t because Dixon slowed the game down and micromanaged it.

UB still in this game while shooting only 35% fg while UK is at 56% fg. I don’t know if the Bulls play zone, but you have to do something to try and gets these UK punks confused on offense. Right now, they just doing anything on offense.

Anyone who comes in will struggle. 2-3 wins in conference, maybe 9-10 overall. You want someone who has built from the ground up. That he can recruit and coach is a given. Not sure you should judge any of them by results, rather how they coached the game.
Oates is an interesting choice. Not sure if he can build from ground up as he inherited a pretty good nucleus then added to it. Still prefer Grant, although I didn’t feel he was at his best yesterday( I’m kinda hard on him cause I had them as my bonus pick in my pool).

Oats has a Masters Degree from Wisconsin. Born there, was a HS coach in Michigan when Bobby Hurley put him on his staff. Supposed to have a very heralded freshmen class….and he recruited the 2nd best JUCO player in America last year, this 6’7″ Jeremy Harris kid who is avg’g 16 ppg.

Interesting Oats has 3 kids on the roster from ACC country…..the Carolinas.
So he can recruit. if you wanna go mid-major up and comer.

Really surprised Buffalo continues to play UK straight up. UK continues getting anything they want on offense. You can’t play man to man the whole game against superior athletes and longer athletes at almost every position.

Clearly, Buffalo should be in a zone. They are getting eaten up by the superior KY athletes and their height. And they are starting to feel the pressure, can’t hit an outside shot. Their half court offense is weak, and they are not able to get to the rim. Experienced coaches can make adjustments. We need Mussleman or Matta.